«Письма о западЕ»

At the same time, in 1915, “Letters about the West” were published. These are the memoirs of Archimandrite Hilarion about his trip to Europe in 1912. It would seem that traveling through developed European states, cities - centers of world culture and industry - is not a great reason for thinking about spiritual topics. But Archimandrite Hilarion is true to himself and considers all events of external life from the point of view of his traditional themes, that is, in connection with the question of the Church. The letters are not an academic work, and therefore convey especially well the character of Father Hilarion, lively and spontaneous. It is clear that his ecclesiological views are not the result of ignorance of the West, much less insensitivity to culture and art or hostility towards people, in particular towards foreigners. He is attracted by the majestic harmony of the Cologne Cathedral (before leaving, he comes to say goodbye to the cathedral), he is delighted by the musical play “Sturm” (“Storm”) he listened to in an organ performance, he is impressed by the beauty of European nature, and he evaluates the Rhine Falls, colored with artificial illumination, as an unforgettable sight. Contemplation of Raphael’s painting “The Sistine Madonna” became one of the strongest aesthetic impressions and emotional experiences of his life. Before this picture, Vladimir Troitsky, by his own admission, “experienced not even tenderness”, “but some kind of quiet self-absorption or admiration” 231. The ardent apologist for the Church does not at all transfer his rejection of Catholicism and other Western confessions to individuals belonging to these confessions. On a Rhine steamer, he takes the initiative and meets a Catholic village priest, whom he asks about many things with interest and with whom he even (“forgive me, Lord!”) has lunch together 232 . Nevertheless, his theological position, after direct acquaintance with Western European life, culture and religiosity, not only does not fundamentally change, but, it is argued, receives, thanks to close acquaintance with the camp of ideological opponents, greater depth. Considering everything from a spiritual perspective, Archimandrite Hilarion finds that in the Gothic style of the Cologne Cathedral “slave fear and sentimental daydreaming” are materialized, 233 Protestant service is poor, boring and lifeless, it is impossible and awkward to pray in front of the “Sistine Madonna,” and in general “in Western Christianity (if one can speak of such a thing) there is a slavish spirit” 234. Orthodoxy is “the faith not of slaves, but of freemen, not of mercenaries, but of sons” 235. Orthodoxy is an essential characteristic of a Russian person. "In Galicia, for example, 'Russian' means Orthodox" 236 , belonging to the Church, outside of which there is only the appearance of life. And therefore Russia, although "poor... in external effects, is rich in the inner beauties of the spirit!" 237 The main positive significance of the war lies in the possibility of sobering up, a return to these riches, in the rejection of the habitual incense to Western gods and idols for many, in conditions that force one to involuntarily take a closer look and understand the greatness of the Russian spirit, inseparable from Orthodoxy, on the one hand, and on the other - the dead end, destructiveness of Western European, in particular, German culture, for which the atrocities of war are not accidental, alien element, but a natural part of it. This is the result of many centuries of being outside the Church of Christ, which has extremely distorted both the very image of man’s relationship to God and the understanding of the meaning of the gospel salvation. For Western Christians, salvation lies in “release from punishment for sin’s offense against the truth of God,” and all spiritual life “turns into some kind of meaningless trade deal with the Lord God.” Archimandrite Hilarion contrasts Western discussions about sin and salvation with the Orthodox point of view, when the basis of salvation is “the idea of ​​renewal of human nature, the idea of ​​its deification through the incarnation of the Son of God,” and sin is understood, first of all, as “illness, corruption of nature, which is internally associated with suffering, while liberation from sin, from corruption gives bliss” 238 . This difference in the understanding of the meaning of salvation by Orthodox and non-Orthodox for Father Hilarion is no less important than the difference in dogmas, but it makes our disunity more obvious, because “the Church is one, and Catholics,” like Protestants, for him “are not the Church, and therefore not Christians, for there is no Christianity without the Church” 239 . Hilarion (Troitsky), schmch. Letters about the West // Same. Without the Church there is no salvation. P. 545.